The planned redevelopment of Walsh Park is part of the Waterford strategic plan for 2021-2030, with a goal of 2026 set down for completion.
The project will now be taken in a phased approach beginning in 2022. The first phase is to begin in 2022 and completion of the first phase by Spring 2023.
Waterford county board chairman Sean Michael O' Regan said that the project will be re-assessed and started with the current financial climate in mind.
"We’re going to undertake a complete review of the existing development proposal including the financial appraisal of Walsh Park."
"We all know the financial situation of the GAA at the moment, both provincial and national."
"Probably being realistic about it Walsh Park – the starting date and the end date is probably going to have to be a phased approach now, to hopefully allow us to get money ourselves and also to hopefully get national central council funds over the next couple of years will happen as well."
"Also, we have the sports capital grant that we got promised – that’s still secure for us."
"We’re hugely enthusiastic about Walsh Park, there’s a fabulous Walsh Park committee in place and what were going to deliver on in the next couple of years in that phased construction – we’re extremely excited about it."
With the redevelopment shifting focus and now aiming to supply a more suited to needs facility, the original expansion of capacity has been reduced from 16,000 to 12 or 13 thousand.
"We think its going to be a landmark for Waterford GAA. It would be our own home, but an absolutely modern stadium that’s going to be family-friendly with reasonable capacity that will serve us for many many years."
"On the other side of the county, we’ve got Fraher Field. It’s a fabulous venue, it’s a unique venue, it’s a beautiful setting, there’s a country town feel to it. We have to put in investment into another facility there in Fraher Field. We’re talking about the showgrounds and turning that into a 4G all-weather pitch, which will serve the schools in the area, the development squads and the Cul Camps as well as other clubs around the area."
The GAA has reported a loss in revenue of 68million euros in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and with that considered the county board now aim to move once the current uncertainty starts to lift.
"We’re extremely confident. We have a very good project oversight team in place, we’re in discussions with Croke Park and were in discussion with Munster council."
"The time scale obviously, there’s nothing going to happen in 2021, everybody is aware of that."
"Our target would be to use this year to finalise our plans, finalise our discussions with all our key stakeholders, see the financial side of things with regards to our commercial arm."
"To bring it all together we can do it in a phased basis like Croke Park. Obviously on a way larger scale than what we’re doing. This is nothing like the development of a Pairc Ui Chaoimh or those stadiums. In that term, it would be modest."
"At the same time, for us, it's hugely important. We’re hugely positive and excited about it. It’s going to happen over a four to five-year period, but after the four to five year, it would come very very fast."
"That would be our intention and our hope that we would start in 2022 and maybe three to four years after that we might get it completed. It will be done in a phased basis because it would have to be, and to make sure that we have the revenue."
The CEO of Waterford County Council Michael Walsh has set the target that the redevelopment will produce a stadium unlike any other in the country and once complete, it will provide a facility that's very much unique to Waterford.
"What we’re trying to achieve here is to get a quality result. We want it to be best in class for what it is. It would have been targeted at being a 16,000 stadium – we think 12 or 13 thousand but we want it then to be a niche stadium that would be best in class in the country of that scale in terms of customer experience and in terms of its presence for Waterford GAA.
"That’s the ambition we’d be setting and we believe that can be made happen."
With the strategic plan laid out, former Waterford hurler Brian Flannery joined Nigel for this weeks On The Ball to look at what the plan entails and how it will change Gaelic Games in the coounty.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5wTq8t1pRSo20v8fRymSro?si=z2lauZ9YSgGJllV8p876Hg
